Monday Mailbag, Tuesday Edition: Jonathan Dahlen, First Round Targets, and Top-4 Ben Hutton

While we’ve definitely seen enough flashes from Dahlen to indicate there’s something there, he did not look ready to play in the NHL this fall by my eyes. He’s got 11 points in 17 games, which is decent production for a 20-year-old in the AHL, but not exactly the kind that screams “he needs to be in the NHL right now”. My best guess is if he does get a call-up, it would be after the deadline, assuming a trade occurs. If not, he’ll get a chance to make the team out of camp next fall.

It’s still very early, which means not only that all the major draft rankings are going to change approximately 39,000 times between now and June, but also that I’m not yet as familiar with this year’s crop of talent as I’d like to be. Having said that, I’ll try to answer as best I can.

I’ll use Jeremy Davis’ consolidated draft rankings for the month of October as a guideline:

Based on the names Jeremy has in the 10-20 range, I would say the names that intrigue me the most are Alex Newhook, Cole Caufield, and Ryan Suzuki. Canucks fans also might want to familiarize themselves with Anttoni Honka, who is one of just two right-handed defenders ranked in the first round and could be on the team’s radar.

If it’s a regular season game, I can only assume that the shootout would go on forever until the universe has evolved to a state of no thermodynamic free energy and therefore can no longer sustain processes that increase entropy. My understanding is that at this point the universe would either experience heat death and collapse, or the arrow of time would begin to move backwards.

I would be worried about Simmonds’ health holding up over a long-term contract, so I would probably steer clear of him in free agency. Stone and Skinner are both intriguing options for different reasons. I lean towards Jeff Skinner, but it would depend on the contract situation.

I think a good front office could get this team to the point where they should be in the playoff hunt every season within three years. They would have to be aggressive when it comes to shopping their veterans, and make some good selections, but they’ve got the necessary building blocks in Pettersson, Horvat, and Hughes to start building a more competitive team. That being said, they haven’t exactly positioned themselves well to be able to do that.

If the Leafs and Jets are a 10 (more or less done rebuilding, with a young core that looks to be competitive for many years), and the Sens are a 1 (haven’t quite accepted reality and lack the assets to build around) then I would put the Canucks somewhere in the middle, maybe a 4. They have some really good pieces in place and that makes me want to put them higher but unfortunately I don’t think management has done enough to signal that they have the pro scouting or contract negotiating skill to pull them out of the hole. Not yet, anyway.

I don’t see why not. He could be a good fit on the right team if the Canucks retain salary. They may have to wait a year to get a decent return, though.

The Canucks have controlled 60% of the goals and 73.6% of the scoring chances when Pouliot is on the ice. Both of those marks are last among the team’s defenders who have seen time on the man-advantage. It’s not an especially large sample, but the complaints about Pouliot’s deficiencies on the power play appear to be backed up by the data. I think Pouliot can be a useful player in the right role- that role just isn’t quarterbacking the first unit.

You’d probably get more if you packaged them separately.

As always, it depends on the asking price. In the past, Jim Benning has done a good job of dealing veterans for prospects that are better value than the pick they might have received otherwise. If the Penguins are interested in a veteran I’d be more than happy with Sprong as a piece coming back. If they want another prospect or a pick in return, I would be significantly less open to the idea.

The Canucks have some players on their roster that are genuinely adept at gaining the zone, so I can understand the frustration. The drop pass isn’t inherently bad, but you need not only the right defenseman to execute the play properly but also enough other tricks up your sleeve to keep the opposition guessing. Right now the Canucks have neither.

I never thought Juolevi was a poor defensive player before this season, so I’m inclined to believe it’s an indication he’s adjusting to the North American pro game. That’s assuming it’s an indication of anything to begin with. Plus/minus is such an unreliable statistic that it could just as easily be random variance. Resident Utica Comets expert Cory Hergott has indicated multiple times that he isn’t overly concerned about Juolevi’s defensive game and I’m inclined to believe him.

Del Zotto may not deserve to be in the lineup on most nights, but I rather have him sit in the press box than Ashton Sautner or Guillaume Brisebois or Jalen Chatfield. He’s on the last year of his deal and there’s usually at least a small market for depth defensemen at the deadline, so I think it’s a little early to cut bait in such dramatic fashion.

I think you can expect to basically see a scrambled version of the first quarter of the season over the course of the next 60 or so games. If Pettersson or Horvat can have a monster game, they might pull out a win. If the major players are healthy and everyone is clicking, they may even upset some superior teams once in awhile. On nights where that doesn’t happen, sometimes it’s going to get ugly. I don’t think anyone should be surprised. The Canucks were winning early on not only because Elias Pettersson was playing well, but also because he was getting puck luck, too. That won’t always happen. So it goes.

I do. That’s the role he’s played so far this season and he’s looked as good as one could hope for. There are holes in his game that are unlikely to correct themselves, but I don’t see why he can’t be a #4 guy with the right partner. The fact that he’s done as well as he has playing mainly alongside Erik Gudbranson is enough to make you wonder how he might fare with a partner who’s more comfortable moving the puck.

It’s been awhile since I was in school, but from what I remember, a “C” is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from a failing grade. To attach that rating to Juolevi at this stage, if that is indeed what they did, seems borderline absurd. I don’t think it’s unfair to say he’s been a disappointment so far relative to where he was selected, but I’d estimate he still has a better chance at a long NHL career than at least 95% of NHL-affiliated prospects right now. Unless we’re grading on a curve, I don’t understand how you come up with that.